As our "planetary village" grows, and the population with it, all available real estate is seriously considered for the building of residential and business use structures. To this end, a great population density is often found in areas near major water courses or ocean shores. This proximity provides for convenient shipping and transportation, recreation opportunities, environmental beauty, etc. Most often, these areas, including "riverbottom real estate" are among the most fertile farming areas available, and are very desirable for residences also. However, as present weather trends continue, these buildable areas near major watercourses become more and more subject to flooding and floodwaters, often severe, as was the case in the summer of 1993, in the American Mid-West lands.
When a building site is chosen near a watercourse, bay or estuary, which is subject to periodic floodwaters, traditional and conventional construction techniques require the placement of several fixed piers or pilings under the structure, to serve as an elevated foundation for the structure. These fixed piers permanently elevate the structure to a predetermined height above grade level. Oftentimes, a decorative skirting is added, to obscure the relatively unsightly pilings. This traditional building technique provides for a housing unit which is permanently supported off the ground and allows for a predetermined degree of floodwater to pass under the house, without actually flooding the house itself. This traditional system of flood plain construction essentially is that of a shore-based dock, and this method of riverbottom housing construction has been in use since the time of early civilization without change, as it has served well.
In very calm floodwaters, or in shallow floodwater conditions, this previous construction technique performs adequately. However, during periodic high floodwater conditions, oftentimes the housing unit can become flooded, even though it is elevated. During this time of flooding, the dwelling becomes uninhabitable, and usually suffers internal damage. In addition, this construction technique permanently places the dwelling high above grade level, where it then becomes necessary for a resident or visitor to climb or descend a large number of steps to enter or exit the dwelling--a necessary inconvenience predicated by the construction technique. Further, this traditional construction arrangement prevents or disallows convenient habitation by invalids or wheelchair housing unit owners.
Other previous techniques of providing for a "stabilized floating platform" are illustrated by the prior art references presented following. These techniques embody structures which intentionally have been designed exclusively for use on existing bodies of water, such as: U.S. Pat. No. 4,381,723, by inventor Jon Furst of St. Johns Canada, assigned to Nordco, Canada which discloses a Submersible dry-dock for use in lifting ships and boats for service; U.S. Pat. No. 4,691,656 from inventors Helmut Katemberg and Ingolf K.sup.- ohler of Federal Republic of Germany, assigned to MAN Germany, which discloses a floating dock for use in repairing ships and the like; U.S. Pat. No. 5,131,109 invented by Bertil and Evert Grip of Sweden, assigned to Bertil Group, Sweden, which discloses a pontoon bridge with automatic height adjusting and locking systems, for use at in-fill river water bridging needs, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,147,148 by inventors Charles N. White and Riley G. Goldsmith of Houston Texas, assigned to Texaco Inc, which discloses a heave restrained offshore oil drilling platform for use in rough waters. These references are brought to light as embodiments of state of the art moored platforms which are intended to be utilized in bodies of water, and these embodiments are not intended or designed to be utilized on dry land, as is the intent of the present invention.
Disclosed by the applicant to the PTO on Aug. 12, 1993 in a package submitted under the Disclosure Document Program, document #337,045, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide for a floatable housing unit for use in floodwater-prone areas, which overcomes the aforesaid disadvantages exhibited to this end by the prior art described above, by providing for an exclusively dry land based, grade level built, releasably moored, post tension frame, prefabricated, stabilized, floatable housing unit which utilizes contained solid foam as a floatation element, and is secured and anchored to the building site through the use of a series of extendable pier, shock absorbing foundation segments, in combination with a series of wooden pilings which serve as a fixed dry land foundation, and which housing unit is self contained with backup utility systems on board.